Backward Compatible Connectivity for High Data Rate Applications

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a communication jack for connecting to one of a first plug and a second plug. The jack includes a housing, plug interface contacts, and coupling circuitry. The plug interface contacts are at least partially within said housing and include a plurality of contact pairs having at least a first contact pair and a second contact pair. The coupling circuitry is configured for engaging said first contact pair and said second contact pair when said first plug is inserted into said housing. The coupling circuitry is configured for disengaging from said first contact pair and said second contact pair when said second plug is inserted into said housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/543,866, filed Oct. 6, 2011, the subject matter of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Currently, one of the fastest communication data rates specified by theIEEE over structured copper cabling is 10 gigabit/second (Gbps) per theIEEE802.3ba standard. The structured cabling infrastructure called outin this standard is based on twisted pair cabling and RJ45 connectivity.This type of structured copper cabling specified by the IEEE includesfour balanced differential pairs over which the Ethernet communicationtakes place. Compliant channels will also meet the TIA568 Category 6A(CAT6A) specifications for cable, connectors, and channels. These CAT6Acomponents and channels provide 500 MHz of bandwidth for datacommunication across 100 meter links.

In June 2010, the IEEE ratified a new standard, IEEE802.3an, for highspeed Ethernet communication at speeds of 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps. This newstandard called for both fiber and copper media; however, the onlycopper media supported was a short (7m) twin-ax based copper cableassembly. No provisions were made for twisted pair structured copperlinks.

The traditional benefits that come with structured copper channels suchas lower cost, backwards compatibility, and field terminableconnectivity, are still desirable at higher speeds such as 40 and 100Gbps. This has prompted many in the industry to investigate thefeasibility of transmitting 40 Gbps over a structured copper channel.Some have speculated that higher bandwidth (1000 MHz) Category 7a(CAT7A) cables and connectivity can support 40 Gbps transmission. Toachieve 1000 MHz of bandwidth in a mated connector, a fundamental changein architecture is required. Traditional RJ45 connectivity presents fourpairs of contacts arranged in a parallel 1-8 in-line fashion with onepair split around another pair. With this arrangement of conductors,substantial technical challenges related to crosstalk, mode conversion,and return loss arise when the bandwidth is extended to 1000 MHz. Twodifferent CAT7A solutions to these connectivity challenges have beenaccepted in the industry.

The IEC 61076-3-104 specification details one architecture that isolatesthe 4 pairs of contacts into individual shielded “quadrants” whichallows for a more manageable approach to minimizing crosstalk and modeconversion at 1000 MHz. A fundamental drawback to at least one type ofthis design can be that it sacrifices one key benefit of structuredcopper cabling, backward compatibility, as RJ45 plugs are not compatiblewith 61076-3-104 type connectors.

Another connectivity solution specified in IEC 60603-7-71 incorporatestwo “modes” of operation to allow for backward compatibility with RJ45style plugs, and a higher bandwidth style plug, sometimes referred to as“ARJ45”, with 4 pairs of contacts isolated in “quadrants”. An IEC60603-7-71 type of connector design is much more electrically andmechanically challenging than the 61076-3-104 style connector, but itdoes maintain the key feature of backward compatibility. When mated withan RJ45 plug, the connector must provide the necessary electricalcrosstalk compensation to comply with the RJ45 rated standard such asCAT6A. When mated with a 60603-7-71 plug, the connector must provide thecorresponding isolated contact locations. The dual mode functionality isachieved by sharing the two outermost pairs of RJ45 contacts, groundingthe middle two pairs of RJ45 contacts, and providing two new pairs ofisolated contacts. In total there are six pairs of contacts in theconnector, four of which are used depending on which style plug it ismated with. The presence of these extra pairs and the mechanicalflexibility of the connector results in a very challenging electricaldesign due to potential parasitic coupling between unused contactsand/or unwanted compensation circuitry. By sharing the two outermostpairs of RJ45 contacts, any crosstalk compensation circuitry betweenthese pairs and the other pairs can cause an unintended imbalanceleading to mode conversion and increased insertion loss through theconnector when mated with a 60603-7-71 plug. Conversely, when mated withan RJ45 plug, the unused isolated contacts can provide an unintendedparasitic coupling path between pairs leading to degraded crosstalk, andreturn loss performance.

While both CAT7A connectors previously discussed support a channel witha bandwidth of 1000 MHz, capacity analysis has shown that the channelwith the previously discussed connectors can only support 40 Gbpstransmission over a length of roughly 25 meters. In addition, thecomplexity of the electronics required to transmit and receive data issignificant and may not be available at a reasonable power level for 10years or more. A higher bandwidth channel is needed to extend the reachof a structured copper channel to a meaningful distance of 50 meters.Capacity analysis indicates that the channel bandwidth will need toapproach 2 GHz to optimally support 40 Gbps transmission. In addition,improved connector crosstalk and return loss performance may be requiredto alleviate some of the digital signal processing burden placed on theelectronics, which drives the complexity and overall power consumptionof the electronics.

What is needed in the art is a higher category cable and connectivitysolution that supports at least 40 Gbps transmission across a structuredcopper channel, and which includes backward compatibility with RJ45connectivity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings and description. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a copper structured cablingcommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 depicts an exploded perspective view of a jack in a structuredcabling communication system, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a front surface of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) of thejack depicted in FIG. 2 in a structured cabling communication system, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a rear surface of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) of thejack depicted in FIG. 2 in a structured cabling communication system, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts schematics of a switchable circuit connection based onthe type of plug inserted into a jack which is utilized during RJ45 modeof operation and which connects the contact pads 1 through 8 on the rearsurface of the PCB depicted in FIG. 4 to separate contact pads 1 through8 on the front surface of the PCB depicted in FIG. 3, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts schematics of a switchable circuit connection based onthe type of plug inserted into a jack which is utilized during ARJ45mode of operation and which is utilized when an IEC 60603-7-71 plug isinserted into the jack and connects the contact pads 1′ through 8′ on arear surface 55 of the PCB depicted in FIG. 4 to separate contact pads1′ through 8′ on the front surface of the PCB depicted in FIG. 3, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of an RJ45 plug and an IEC 60603-7-71plug, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 depicts a rear perspective view of a portion of the jack depictedin FIG. 2 having metallic dividers grounded to the PCB in order toestablish continuity between a cable shield and an individual pairshield, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 depicts a front perspective view of a portion of the jackdepicted in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 depicts a rear perspective view of a portion of the jackdepicted in FIG. 2 having the PCB sandwiched between a rear dielectricframe connected with a front dielectric frame, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts a side view of a portion of the jack depicted in FIG. 2having the PCB sandwiched between a rear dielectric frame connected witha front dielectric frame, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 depicts conductors of the jack depicted in FIG. 2 grounded onthe PCB through appropriately placed ground pads on the front side ofthe PCB, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 depicts a side view of an insertion of an IEC 60603-7-71 styleplug into the jack depicted in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 14 depicts a side view of a portion of the jack depicted in FIG. 2having the PCB sandwiched between a rear dielectric frame connected witha front dielectric frame upon insertion of an IEC 60603-7-71 style pluginto the jack, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of the PCB of thejack depicted in FIG. 2 upon insertion of an IEC 60603-7-71 style pluginto the jack, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 depicts an exploded perspective view of a jack in a structuredcabling communication system, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 17 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of a first PCB ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 having a second PCB in a first position, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 depicts a top surface of a second Printed Circuit Board (PCB) ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 in a structured cabling communicationsystem, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 depicts a side view of an insertion of an IEC 60603-7-71 styleplug into the jack depicted in FIG. 16, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of a first PCB ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 having a second PCB in a second position,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of a first PCB ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 in a first position, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of a first PCB ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 in a second position, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of a first PCB ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 having one alternative version of a secondPCB in a first position, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 24 depicts a perspective view of a front surface of a first PCB ofthe jack depicted in FIG. 16 having one alternative version of a secondPCB in a second position, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides an IEC 60603-7-71 connector (jack)solution that supports two modes of operation depending on the type ofplug inserted into the connector. One mode of operation is capable ofsupporting high speed communication over a structured copper channel atspeeds beyond 10 Gbps when an IEC 60603-7-71 style plug is inserted. Theelectrical and mechanical design of the jack extends the usablebandwidth well beyond the IEC 60603-7-71 requirement of 1000 MHz tosupport potential future applications such as 40 GBASE-T. In addition, asecond mode of operation provides the jack with backward compability toall lower speed BASE-T applications such as 10 GBASE-T and below when astandard RJ45 plug is inserted into the jack. The dual functionality ofthe jack of the present invention is enabled via a unique switchingfunction that is activated based on the type of plug inserted into theconnector.

With reference to FIG. 1, a copper structured cabling communicationsystem 40 is shown, in accordance with the present invention, whichincludes a patch panel 42 having jacks 44 and RJ45 plugs 46 associatedwith and engaging those jacks 44. Alternatively, a 60603-7-71 type plug70, as shown in FIG. 7, can also be used with associated cable in placeof an RJ45 plug 46. The represented communication system 40 illustratesone typical application for jack 44 when used in a structured cablingenvironment such as a data center. A cable 48 is terminated to one endof the jack 44 and another cable 50 is terminated in a plug 46 that isinserted into the other side of the jack 44 allowing for bi-directionalcommunication through the plug 46 and the jack 44.

Although the present invention can be used in communication system 40 asshown in FIG. 1, other communication systems according to the presentinvention can include equipment other than a patch panel 42. Theequipment of the present invention can be passive equipment or activeequipment. Examples of passive equipment can be, but are not limited to,modular patch panels, angled patch panels, and wall jacks. Examples ofactive equipment can be, but are not limited to, Ethernet switches,routers, servers, physical layer management systems, andPower-Over-Ethernet equipment as can be found in data centers;telecommunications rooms; security devices (cameras and other sensors,etc.) and door access equipment; and telephones, computers, faxmachines, printers and other peripherals found in workstation areas.Communication system 40 according to the present invention can furtherinclude cabinets, racks, cable management and overhead routing systems,and other such equipment.

With reference to FIGS. 2 to FIG. 6, one embodiment of the presentinvention includes jack 44 with a PCB 52, a front dielectric frame 54, arear dielectric frame 56, a vertical PCB metal slider 58, a verticalspring 60, plug interface contacts (PICs) 61 (4,5), PICs 62(1,2,3,6,7,8), PICs 63 (3′,4′,5′,6′), insulation displacement contacts(IDCs) 64, a horizontal metal divider 66, a vertical metal divider 67and a metal jack housing 68. Jack 44 can also include a wire cap, strainrelief clip and other cable/conductor connector devices.

A switching mechanism 65, which is a combination of elements 52, 54, 56,58, 60, 61, 62, 63, in jack 44 provides a dual functionality havingcompliance with an RJ45 Plug 46 and an IEC 60603-7-71 plug 70, as shownin FIG. 7, is achieved by incorporating a sliding PCB 52 that has avertical degree of freedom and a coupling circuitry having twoindependent circuits 100, 102 in PCB 52 for RJ45 and IEC 60603-7-71, asshown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. The sliding PCB 52 rides ontop of a spring element 60 which aids in locating PCB 52 depending onthe plug inserted. Further, PCB 52 is constrained between two dielectricframes (front 54 and rear 56). Dielectric frames 54, 56 have aligningfeatures 84, 88 along with matching feature 86 in PCB 52 to helpconstrain PCB 52 in a Z-direction and also provide a way for limitingthe maximum vertical movement (in a −Y and +Y direction) for the PCB 52during the insertion and withdrawal of the plugs 46, 70. Based on thetype of plug inserted into the jack, either plug 46 or plug 70, PCB 52is located at one of two possible locations which enable the switchingof the signal path between jack contacts 61, 62, and 63 and one of twoindependent circuits 100, 102 on PCB 52.

Jack 44 is provided with twelve plug interface contacts: PICs 61(contacts 4, 5), PICs 62 (contacts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8) and PICs 63(contacts 3′, 4′, 5′, 6′) that are held in position by the fixed frontdielectric frame 54 to ensure they are aligned with their correspondingcontact pads on the front side of PCB 52 and the contacts on the plug 46or 70. Front dielectric frame 54 also has protruded cantileveredfeatures 80, 82 that support the PICs 61, 62, 63 as they are beingengaged with the plug contacts. Cantilevered features 80, 82 helpprovide an additional normal force for the PICs 61, 62, 63 duringinsertion and engagement. PICs 1 through 8 (61, 62) are arranged in afashion to mate with a traditional RJ45 plug. The IEC 60603-7-71 styleplug 70, shown in FIG. 7, is designed to provide much more isolationbetween the four pairs compared to an RJ45 plug 46 by creating moreseparation between contact pairs and providing shielding 73 between thepairs.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 13, the switching mechanism is activatedduring the insertion of an IEC 60603-7-71 plug 70 by the nose feature 71in front of an IEC 60603-7-71 plug. Insertion of plug 70 causes PCB 52to slide, which switches the signal path between the plug contactsthrough the PICs 61, 62, 63 in the jack 44 to one of two differentcircuits 100, 102 on the PCB 52. Schematics in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 showswitchable circuit connections based on the type of plug, either 46 or70, inserted into the jack 44. With reference to FIG. 5, one circuit 100which is utilized during RJ45 mode of operation, when plug 46 isinserted into jack 44, connects contact pads 1 through 8 on the rearsurface 55 of the PCB 52, as shown in FIG. 4, to separate contact pads 1through 8 on a front surface 57 of the PCB 52, as shown in FIG. 3. Withreference to FIG. 6, a second circuit 102 on PCB 52 is utilized when anIEC 60603-7-71 plug 70 is inserted into jack 44, and connects contactpads 1′ through 8′ on the rear surface 55 of PCB 52, as shown in FIG. 4,to separate contact pads 1′ through 8′ on the front surface 57 of PCB52, as shown in FIG. 3. With reference to FIG. 2, IDCs 64 provide ameans for terminating a twisted pair cable to jack 44 and are held inposition by a fixed rear dielectric frame 56 to maintain the alignmentwith the PCB 52. Connection to the rear side of PCB 52 is made by platedthrough holes or vias which are connected by traces to the contact pads,as shown in FIG. 4. On the rear side of PCB 52, additional contact padswhich are connected by traces to the appropriate vias are positioned toalign with eight IDCs 64. There is no common point of connection betweenany of the contact pads in the two independent circuits 100, 102. Groundpads 3G′, 4G′, 5G′, and 6G′ are located on the rear surface 55 of PCB 52to ground the unused PICs 63 (3′, 4′, 5′, and 6′) during the RJ45 modeof operation. Ground pads 3G, 4G, 5G, and 6G, are located on the rearsurface 55 of the PCB 52 to ground the unused PICs (3, 4, 5, and 6)during the IEC 60603-7-71 mode of operation. Grounding pads on the frontsurface 57 of the PCB 52 provide a way of grounding metal divider 66, 67during either mode of operation.

By using two completely independent circuits 100, 102 which are isolatedfrom each other to connect the appropriate plug contacts from eitherplug 46 or plug 70 to the IDCs 64, the compensation circuitry requiredduring the RJ45 mode of operation does not impact the electricalperformance of jack 44 while operating in the IEC 60603-7-71 mode. Thisisolation of each circuit 100, 102 is advantageous when meeting the highbandwidth performance targets of jack 44. By using two independentcircuits 100, 102, coupled with a sliding action of PCB 52 duringswitching, IDCs 64 come into contact with separate sets of contact pads1-8, 1′-8′ devoted for RJ45 plug 46 and IEC 60603-7-71 plug 70,respectively.

With reference to FIG. 2, PICs (61, 62 and 63), IDCs (64) and metaldividers (66, 67) are designed to have spring characteristics 90, 92,94, 96, 98 in their foot ends such that they have a constant force onthe contact pads while having wiping contact with the sliding PCB 52.PICs 61 engage PCB 52 in a different location and orientation than PICs62. This arrangement of PICs 61 relative to PICs 62 helps to minimizeany additional crosstalk in the jack between pairs 36 and 45 whenoperating in RJ45 mode.

In order to maintain isolation between the four signal pairs and preventunwanted crosstalk between IDCs 64 and wire pairs, horizontal 66 andvertical metallic dividers 67 are assembled and positioned between thefour pairs of IDCs 64. This arrangement of metallic dividers 66, 67enables the formation of a quadrant for each pair of wires. Metallicdividers 66, 67 also provide a way to ground the individual metal foilshields that are wrapped around each of the four wire pairs. Withreference to FIG. 8, by grounding the metallic dividers 66, 67 to PCB52, the continuity of the cable shield and individual pair shield can beestablished. The entire assembly is inserted into a metallic jackhousing 68 which also helps maintain the continuity of the shields fromcable to cable throughout the mated jack and plug connectivity.

With reference to FIGS. 9-12, during operation, when there is no pluginserted into jack 44 (“idle state”), spring element 60 forces PCB 52upward until the PCB 52′s alignment features 86 engage theircorresponding locating features 84, 88 on dielectric frames 54, 56. Withthe PCB 52 in this position, contact pads 1 through 8 on the front sideof PCB 52 are in alignment with the fixed PICs (61, 62) 1 through 8. Inaddition, the IDC contact pads 1 through 8, on the rear side of PCB 52,are in alignment with the fixed IDCs (64) 1 through 8 as shown in FIGS.10 and 11. While in this idle state, the eight RJ45 contacts 61, 62 areconnected to the 8 IDCs 64 through PCB 52.

When an RJ45 plug 46 is inserted into jack 44 as illustrated in FIG. 11,the switching mechanism is not activated. The plug contacts engage thefixed contacts (61, 62) 1 through 8 in jack 44 and thereby establishcontinuity between the plug 46 and the cable terminated in the IDCs 64on the other end of jack 44. As is typical in RJ45 jacks, such as CAT6A,crosstalk compensation is required to counteract the inherent crosstalkthat exists in an RJ45 plug. This compensation circuitry, which mayinclude discrete and/or distributed capacitive and inductive elementsbetween conductors, such as C13, C35, C46 and C68, shown schematicallyin FIG. 5, can be realized on internal and/or external layers of PCB 52.Other compensation elements can also be included which help optimizereturn loss, far-end crosstalk (FEXT), balance, etc. While jack 44 isengaged with an RJ45 plug 46, PCB 52 is positioned in a way to providecontinuity between the eight RJ45 plug contacts 61, 62 and the eightIDCs 64 terminating the cable conductors. The other fixed PICs 63, 3′,4′, 5′, and 6′ can introduce unintended coupling and crosstalk betweenpairs in jack 44. To prevent this unintended coupling and crosstalk fromoccurring, these conductors 63 are grounded on PCB 52 throughappropriately placed ground pads on the front side of the PCB 52 asshown in FIG. 12.

With reference to FIG. 13, when an IEC 60603-7-71 style plug 70 isinserted into jack 44, the nose feature 71 on the front of the plugengages PCB slider 58 mounted to PCB 52. As plug 70 is inserted furtherinto jack 44, nose feature 71 applies force and displacement against theangled face of slider 58. Slider 58 transfers the displacement to PCB 52based on the incline of slider 58. In this design, displacement of PCB52 is converted to the Y direction due to the constraints provided bythe dielectric frames (54 and 56) along a horizontal direction. As aresult, while the PCB 52 moves in a downward direction with theinsertion of nose feature 71, a bottom surface of the PCB 52 pushesagainst the spring 60. When the vertical component of the force from PCB52 is greater than the spring force, the PCB 52 slides downwarddeflecting spring element 60 until the plug 70 is inserted into itsfinal position. This action is illustrated in FIG. 13 with steps S10(plug approach), S12 (initial plug contact), S14 (sliding action of PCB52) and S16 (final engaged position). Slider 58 is designed in such away that it transfers the displacement to PCB 52 while also havingspring-like characteristics 100 to accommodate some tolerances of theparts and motion once the required vertical displacement has occurred.

With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the twelve fixed PICs (61, 62 and 63)engaging the front of the PCB 52 and the eight fixed IDC contacts 64engaging the back of the PCB 52 will be disconnected from the RJ45contact pads as the PCB 52 is forced to slide downward. Once the plughas been fully inserted, the PCB 52 slides downward to its finalposition. In this position, the twelve PICs and eight fixed IDCs willnow be aligned with different contact pads on the front and back side ofthe PCB 52 which can be seen in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. PICs 61, 62, 63slide off and on their respective contact pads as the PCB 52 moves. Inthe process of sliding on and off the contact pads of the PCB 52, anycontaminants or oxidation that may be present on the surface of the PCB52 contact pads will be wiped away; thereby, ensuring a robust gas tightconnection between the PICs 61, 62, 63, IDCs 64, and the PCB 52.

By connecting all twelve fixed PICs 61, 62, 63 and eight fixed IDCs 64to new contact pads in the IEC 60603-7-71 mode of operation, all of thecompensation circuitry on the PCB 52 that was necessary for the RJ45mode of operation is completely disconnected from the signal path on allfour signal pairs. In addition, PICs 3, 4, 5, and 6 are connected toground pads on the front side of PCB 52. Grounding the unused PICs 3, 4,5, and 6 is advantageous in achieving sufficient return loss, insertionloss, and electrical balance performance at higher frequencies.

With reference to FIG. 16, in accordance with one embodiment, a secondjack 45 includes a provision for two stage compensation. It may benecessary to implement two stages of circuitry to sufficientlycompensate for the RJ45 plug's crosstalk over a wide enough bandwidth.For example, CAT6A standards specify crosstalk requirements up to afrequency of 500 MHz. In the event where two stages of compensation arerequired, a second PCB 72 can be incorporated in a horizontalconfiguration. FIG. 16 depicts an exploded view of jack 45 with avertical PCB 53, front dielectric frame 59, rear dielectric frame 56,vertical PCB metal slider 58, vertical spring 60, PICs 1-8 (PICs 61,62), PICs (3′, 4′, 5′, 6′) 63, IDC 64, horizontal metal divider 66,vertical metal divider 67 and metal jack housing 68, dielectric sliders74, jack housing 69, horizontal PCB 72 and horizontal spring 76.

During operation of jack 45, the first stage of compensation circuitrycan be located on PCB 72 while the second compensation stage can belocated on the PCB 53. A spring element 76 forces the PCB 72 into theappropriate position (for RJ45 plug 46 interface) to align the fixedPICs (61, 62) 1 through 8 with the corresponding contact pads on the topside of PCB 72 as shown in FIG. 17. The appropriate compensationcircuitry, which may include discrete and/or distributed capacitive andinductive elements between conductors, can be realized on internaland/or external layers of the PCB 72 as shown in FIG. 18.

With reference to FIGS. 17-19, if two stages of compensation arerequired in the RJ45 mode of operation via PCB 72 and PCB 53, bothstages of compensation circuitry need to be disconnected from all foursignal pairs. To achieve this disconnection of compensation circuitry,the connection of the fixed PICs to PCB 72 must be changed for the IEC60603-7-71 mode of operation.

With reference to FIG. 16 and FIG. 19, two dielectric sliders 74 whichare mounted to PCB 53 are designed to engage PCB 72 as the PCB 53 isforced to slide downward when an IEC 60603-7-71 plug 70 is inserted. ThePCB 72 is constrained from moving in Y-direction with the only degree inZ-direction with a spring element 76 resisting motion along Z-direction.As plug 70 is inserted, PCB 53 is forced to slide downward (S 18) whichcauses the dielectric sliders 74 to apply force and displacement on PCB72. Due to the sloped nature of dielectric sliders 74 and constraints inY-direction for PCB 72, downward displacement of PCB 53 (S 18) istranslated into Z-direction against the spring 76. When this horizontalforce is greater than the opposing force of the spring element 76, PCB72 slides laterally (S20) compressing the spring element 76 until theplug 70 is inserted into its final position. Eight PICs 61, 62 engagingthe top surface of the PCB 72 will be disconnected from theircorresponding RJ45 contact pads as PCB 72 is forced to slide laterally.Once the plug 70 has been fully inserted into the jack 45, PCB 72 willhave slid laterally to its final position. In this position, eight PICs61, 62 will now be aligned with different contact pads on the top sideof PCB 72. PICs 1, 2, 7, and 8 will now have no connection to thecompensation circuitry on PCB 72, and PICs 3, 4, 5, and 6 will now beconnected to ground pads on the top side of PCB 72 as shown in FIG. 20.These signal grounding pads are advantageous in achieving sufficientreturn loss, insertion loss, and electrical balance performance athigher frequencies.

The sliding action of the PCBs 53, 72, which is activated by the nosefeature 71 on the front of an IEC 60603-7-71 plug 70, essentiallyswitches the signal path through the mated connectivity between twodifferent circuits on the PCBs 53, 72. FIG. 6 shows schematically theswitchable circuit connections when IEC 60603-7-71 plug 70 is insertedinto the jack.

Two additional embodiments according to the present invention are shownin FIGS. 21-24. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 21 (RJ45 mode) and FIG.22 (IEC 60603-7-71 mode) PCB 75 can substitute for PCB 52 in jack 44,with the additional contacts 77 (0 and 9 contacts). In anotherembodiment shown in FIG. 23 (RJ45 mode) and FIG. 24 (IEC 60603-7-71mode) PCB 79 can substitute for PCB 53 in jack 45, and PCB 78 cansubstitute for PCB 72 in jack 45, with the additional contacts 77 (0 and9 contacts). Embodiments shown in FIGS. 21-24 can improve the electricalperformance of the jacks 44, 45 according to the present invention, andmore particularly additional contacts 77 (0 and 9 contacts), when eitherjack 44 or 45 is operating in IEC 60603-7-71 mode.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 21-24, when operating in IEC60603-7-71 mode, PICs (62) 1 and 2 are mated with their correspondingcontacts on the IEC 60603-7-71 plug and PIC 3 is connected to ground.With the position of PIC 3 being adjacent to PIC 2, an impedancediscontinuity is created. Even and odd mode impedance of PIC 1 isinherently higher than PIC 2. This impedance discontinuity results in anincrease in electrical reflections at this interface and an increase inmode conversion. The differential return loss, insertion loss, andcrosstalk performance of pair 12 will all be degraded due to thisinherent condition of the jack. To avoid these performance degradations,even and odd mode impedances of PICs 1 and 2 should be equal and matchedto the characteristic impedance of the cable. By introducing contact 0(77), which is grounded in the IEC 60603-7-71 mode of operation,adjacent to PIC 1 (62) the impedances will be equal. This provides abalanced configuration of ground conductors and signal conductors(G-S-S-G), and this balanced transmission line configuration becomesmore advantageous relative to signal integrity as the bandwidthincreases.

A similar concern exists with PICs 7 and 8 in IEC 60603-7-71 mode ofoperation. PICs 7 and 8 are mated with their corresponding plug contactsand PIC 6 is grounded. With PIC 6 being adjacent to PIC 7, even and oddmode impedance of PIC 8 will be inherently higher than PIC 7. By addingan additional grounded contact 9 (77) adjacent to PIC 8 (62), a balancedG-S-S-G configuration is created and performance degradations areavoided or minimized Contacts 0 and 9 (77) are grounded through contactpads on the PCB 75 for embodiment 3 when PCB 75 slides downward on plug70 insertion; and contacts 0 and 9 (77) are grounded through contactpads on the PCBs 79, 78 for embodiment 4 when PCB 79 slides downward onplug 70 insertion. The fixed position of contacts 77 (0 and 9) areslightly offset relative to PICs 1 through 8 to allow the plug body tobe fully inserted without interfering with the 0 and 9 contacts 77.Without this offset, the solid portion of the plug body would interferewith and deform the shape of the PICs. The plug body can also bebeneficially modified to shield the 0 and 9 contacts 77.

Another possible use of contacts 77 (0 and 9) is to incorporate theminto the crosstalk compensation circuitry required when jacks 44 or 45are operating in the RJ45 mode. They may provide an additional way ofminimizing the super-pair affect caused by the split of pair 36 couplingto pair 12 and pair 78.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodimentsand implementations are possible within the scope of the invention.Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light ofthe attached claims and their equivalents.

1. A communication connector comprising: a housing including a plugreceiving aperture; a first set of plug interface contacts in said plugreceiving aperture; a second set of plug interface contacts in said plugreceiving aperture, said second set of plug interface contacts includessome of said first set of plug interface contacts; a set of cableconnecting contacts; a PCB at least partially within said housing, saidPCB including a first circuit independent of a second circuit, said PCBslidably configured in said housing with at least a first position and asecond position, in said first position said first circuit directlyconnected to said first set of plug interface contacts and directlyconnected to said set of cable connecting contacts, said first circuitconnecting said first set of plug interface contacts to said set ofcable connecting contacts, in said second position said second circuitdirectly connected to said second set of plug interface contacts anddirectly connected to said set of cable connecting contacts, said secondcircuit connecting said second set of plug interface contacts to saidset of cable connecting contacts.
 2. The communication connector ofclaim 1, wherein said first circuit is isolated from said secondcircuit.
 3. The communication connector of claim 1, wherein said firstcircuit is at least partially coupled to said second circuit.
 4. Thecommunication connector of claim 1 further comprising a second PCBslidably configured in said housing.
 5. A communication systemcomprising: communication equipment; and a communication connectorconnected to said communication equipment, said communication connectorincluding: a housing including a plug receiving aperture; a first set ofplug interface contacts in said plug receiving aperture; a second set ofplug interface contacts in said plug receiving aperture, said second setof plug interface contacts includes some of said first set of pluginterface contacts; a set of cable connecting contacts; a PCB at leastpartially within said housing, said PCB including a first circuitindependent of a second circuit, said PCB slidably configured in saidhousing with at least a first position and a second position, in saidfirst position said first circuit directly connected to said first setof plug interface contacts and directly connected to said set of cableconnecting contacts, said first circuit connecting said first set ofplug interface contacts to said set of cable connecting contacts, insaid second position said second circuit directly connected to saidsecond set of plug interface contacts and directly connected to said setof cable connecting contacts, said second circuit connecting said secondset of plug interface contacts to said set of cable connecting contacts.6. A communication jack for connecting to a first plug and a secondplug, said jack comprising: a housing including a plug receivingaperture; a first plurality of plug interface contacts in said plugreceiving aperture for connection to said first plug and including aplurality of first contact pairs, a subset of said first contact pairsalso for connection to said second plug; a second plurality of pluginterface contacts in said plug receiving aperture for connection tosaid second plug; and at least one ground contact at least partiallywithin said housing for providing a signal ground for said subset ofsaid first contact pairs when said jack is connected to said secondplug.
 7. A communication jack for connecting to one of a first plug anda second plug comprising: a housing including a plug receiving aperture;a first and second set of plug interface contacts in said plug receivingaperture, wherein said second set of plug interface contacts includes atleast one pair of said first set of plug interface contacts; andcoupling circuitry having a first circuit which engages said first setof plug interface contacts when said first plug is inserted into saidplug receiving aperture and a second circuit which engages said secondset of plug interface contacts when said second plug is inserted intosaid plug receiving aperture.
 8. The communication jack of claim 7further comprising a circuit board within said housing, wherein saidcoupling circuitry is on said circuit board.
 9. The communication jackof claim 8, wherein said circuit board is movable between a firstposition in which said first circuit engages said first set of pluginterface contacts and a second position in which said second circuitengages said second set of plug interface contacts.
 10. Thecommunication jack of claim 9 further comprising a set of cableconnecting contacts, wherein in said first position said first circuitconnects said first set of plug interface contacts with said cableconnecting contacts, and wherein in said second position said secondcircuit connects said second set of plug interface contacts with saidcable connecting contacts.
 11. The communication jack of claim 7 furthercomprising a shield associated with said housing, wherein at least onepair of said first set of plug interface contacts is connected to saidshield when at least one of said first plug and said second plug isinserted into said plug receiving aperture.
 12. The communication jackof claim 7, wherein said first circuit is electrically isolated fromsaid second circuit.
 13. The communication jack of claim 7, wherein saidfirst circuit is at least partially coupled to said second circuit.